caulk sucker...

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guttadaj

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I'm trying to achieve a moderate level of sound attenuation in the little studio I'm building. I'm not going all out like a lot of the damn nice studios I see here. I'm planning on applying a double layer of sheetrock in the manner described at Soundproofing 101 - Applying Sheetrock. It says to put a thick bead of silicone caulk on the entire stud surfaces before applying the sheetrock. My question is "Am I supposed to let it sit for a while before applying the sheetrock or should I apply the sheetrock as quickly as possible after putting it on?" I was thinking of putting the caulk on all the studs at one time and then just putting the sheetrock up as I had the time - some of it might not get up until a few days after I apply the caulk. Is this ok?

I know there are much better ways to get better sound proofing, but I don't really need to go hardcore here, and I think this double drywall method should be fine for my needs. I just don't want it to go off half-caulked... :o :D

Thanks,
-Jeff
 
Thanks for the tips and really cool link (had not seen that site before), c7sus! I know what you mean about the silicone caulk being expensive :rolleyes: - I'll definitely check out the acrylic latex caulk next trip to my home away from home, the Home Depot. :D I guess as long as it stays flexible like the silicone stuff, it should work fine for my use.

I'm not sure, but I just guessed that the caulk, while not eliminating the vibrations of the sheetrock into screw into stud, would help to reduce them. I also thought that maybe the caulk wouldn't smoosh 100% all the way flat and would therefore give an ever-so-tiny resilient channel. Whatever - I'll give it a try and see. If anyone does know how it works though, I'd love to know.

As far as applying the sheetrock, I'm going to put up the first layer horizontally and the second layer vertically to minimize coincident seams.

Thanks again! :)
-Jeff
 
I'm assuming the reason for putting the caulk on the studs is to keep the sheetrock from being able to 'flap' against the stud... Theoretically I'd guess the sheetrock could knock against the stud in between screws and such.

Don't really know.

Velvet Elvis
 
Just got this book on drywall the other day, titled "Drywall" - catchy title, huh? Anyway, this guy isn't really into sound proofing, just eats, breathes, and sleeps drywall - his reasons for using adhesive/sealant on the studs were to (1) even out the surface and keep the wallboard from having waves that would show in some light after painting, especially a gloss paint (2) being able to use less fasteners, which in his case related to cost/time savings more than anything else.

Acoustically, if you could reduce the # of fasteners you would improve the sound isolation somewhat. I'm not sure yet just how much you could get away with - the drywall guy mentioned something like less than half the fasteners, gotta read that part again...

If you use a caulk/sealant over studs, be sure to only use it there on the next layer too - if you actually glue the entire second layer to the first, you will cause the two panels to act as one - this would most likely cause a slight improvement (not sure about this) at LOW freqs, but worsen the performance at low mids and up. Nowhere in my studies have I seen it recommended to fully laminate multiple layers of paneling on a wall.

If you can find it locally (commercial insulation/drywall places sometimes) the quart size tubes of REAL acoustic caulk can be had for about $3.50 - $4 - this translates to $1.33 a tube for the normal 10 0z size. Home Depot carries the pro caulk guns for $7 and $14 (heavy duty) but has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in ANY size that's acoustically rated.

If you can't find the real stuff locally, you can get it for $7.50 a quart tube here

http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/products/sealants/caulk.asp

remember, that's a QUART tube - translates to $2.50 per NORMAL size, 10 oz tube. Sooo, even though it's about TWICE what you may be able to find it for locally, it's not too bad compared to the small tubes - it still beats using the other stuff, because...

The thing with acoustic rated caulk is, it isn't supposed to crack, separate, harden, etc - and it has better sound blocking ability, so it's not going to be a weak link in your construction. Most other caulks will sooner or later pull away or crack, leaving you with less sound proofing than you originally had. Not good, especially when the problem is now under 2 layers of sheet rock, etc.

Just my $.02... Steve
 
Don't eat or sleep drywall, but I sure have been breathing plenty of it lately. :rolleyes: I'll look for that "Drywall" book on the Bestsellers List. ;) :D

Thanks guys for the help. Yeah, Steve, I'm just going to caulk at the studs for both layers. I'm gonna see about getting some of that acoustic caulk. When I asked about it Home Depot, they give me the blankest of looks. It's really a shame that they don't have more stuff geared towards acoustics. With the proliferation of home recording, I should hope that they'll step up sometime soon.

Thanks! :)
-Jeff
 
...on wall materials...

...I am considering using tongue and groove cedar which I intend to glue and nail into place...I probably will not finish it because it smells so damn good!...as a soft, unfinished wood I am thinking this might be a decent semi-non-reflective surface...



...does anyone else think this is a good idea, and if not, why not?...
 
The cedar should look pretty cool, the smell is good too - the only thing is, it won't do anything for sound proofing so if you need that, you'd need to do a couple layers of sheet rock UNDER the cedar.

Wood is a fairly reflective, bright surface - you might need to alternate with some more absorptive surfaces, but it's good to have at least one bright wall to put things in front of when you want a nice shimmer to a particular track... Steve
 
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